The Life Cycles of Modern Artists

David W. Galenson

NBER Working Paper No. 8779
Issued in February 2002
NBER Program(s):Labor Studies

There have been two very different life cycles for great modern artists: some have made their major contributions early in their careers, while others have produced their best work later in their lives. These patterns have been associated with different artistic goals and working methods: artists who peak late are motivated by aesthetic considerations and work by trial and error, whereas artists who peak early are motivated by conceptual concerns and plan their work in advance. This paper shows that Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and the other leading Abstract Expressionists, who were experimental innovators, produced their best work considerably later in their careers than did Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and the other leading conceptual innovators of the generation that followed them. These results not only yield a new understanding of the life cycles of creative individuals, but also provide new insights into the value of works of art.

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Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w8779

Published:

• Galenson, David W. "The Life Cycles of Modern Artists." Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History 37, 3 (Summer 2004): 123 - 136.
• David Galenson, 2002. "The Life Cycles of Modern Artists," World Economics, World Economics, Economic & Financial Publishing, 1 Ivory Square, Plantation Wharf, London, United Kingdom, SW11 3UE, vol. 3(3), pages 161-178, July. citation courtesy of

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